“Why aren’t all kids taught civics in schools?” Jaysa Hunter-Mellers asks. There has never been a more critical time in our history for young people, especially those from marginalized communities, to see themselves as change-makers, fighting for social and climate justice and understanding their role in our democracy. In her keynote, Jaysa will tell the story of how, when she was 10-years-old, she began to give speeches at rallies, testified at City Hall, and helped shut down the coal-fired power plant that was causing her asthma.

Resilient Mystic Collaborative

What: Nineteen Greater Boston municipalities - including Arlington- are working together as the Resilient Mystic Collaborative (RMC) to protect their residents and environment from a slower-moving but no less deadly crisis: climate change. Their ambitions and first eighteen months of progress can be found at their newly-launched website atresilient.mysticriver.org.